Dueling protests mark Western NY squirrel hunt

Tuesday

Feb 19, 2013 at 6:00 AM

A weekend squirrel hunting contest to raise funds for a Western New York volunteer fire company drew about 30 animal rights protesters and a heavy police presence, following heated criticism of the once-obscure event.

Organizers of the “Hazzard County Squirrel Slam” say they sold 900 tickets at $10 each for hunters as young as 12 to vie for cash prizes for bagging the largest squirrel and the heaviest group of up to five. The fundraiser in the Orleans County village of Holley included raffles for five rifles and shotguns.

Critics sent thousands of emails, including some threats, to village and state officials, urging them to call off the hunt, according to reports by Rochester-area media. The threats prompted police to bring in extra officers for what turned out to be a peaceful, and sometimes colorful, protest Saturday.

Outside the weigh-in station, one demonstrator carried a sign reading “Teach Kindness, Not Killing” as a hunter walked by with dead squirrels hanging from his camouflage jacket pockets.

Other hunters showed off their kills to the protesters.

Edita Birnkrant, director of New York Friends of Animals, and other protesters chanting “Shame on Holley, New York” faced about 150 supporters of the hunt, some responding with a chant, “Squirrels taste good!”

Police charged one man with harassment after he shouted at Birnkrant, first inviting her home for a squirrel dinner and then saying, “Someone would be shooting you” if police weren’t standing by.